Becoming a 'Normal' Family
by Oceanbreeze7
Summary: Oneshot: Natasha was never one to believe in always getting what she wanted out of life, but deep down, she realizes that she wants, needs Tony to trust her. She knows this will likely never happen, she burned Stark once already after all. "You know, they already consider you family. You don't have to go out of your way to convince them."


**Hello! This challenge was given to me by _Archer83 _ and his (and now my) buddy ****_Vergil1989 the Crossover King_!**

**Those two-...wow, you certainly amused me. :)**

**If you have time, go ahead and check out their stuff! They mostly work in Crossovers, but they're still good!**

**Anyways, the title was made by Vergil1989 The Crossover King, I wrote it, and Archer83 helped buff it out!**

**Read and Review!**

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The Avengers were a team.

Although, over the few months they had been living together, it was, at the beginning, at a rather strained relationship at best.

Tony had offered his tower as their new headquarters, and due to the lack of housing for everyone, they had accepted. The fact that the ever voracious news media was unable to disturb them in Tony's humble abode might have had something to do with their new living arrangement as well. They each had their own floor, respectably, all rather close and easy to access as every morning they flocked together, watching the morning news while chatting about the pros and cons of various flavored cream cheese spreads.

At first it was awkward, Steve accidentally introduced pears to the fruit bowl (Clint could never stand them), then came the incident with Thor and the toaster. (JARVIS now had Dummy posted near the kitchen at all times, fire extinguisher at the ready.) They had kept a safe distance, usually never saying more than a few words to each other, as Steve attempted to initiate conversation.

Then Doom appeared, and then other foes such as mutants, madmen, biomechanical engineers, and even the occasional mutated land shark that terrorized the world. The Avengers were called in, and eventually, over time…they bonded.

They weren't just a team, they were friends. And sometimes, when they were laughing over something Tony had said, to a point where they had even heard Clint's embarrassing hyena cackles and Bruce's somewhat feminine giggles, they had became a family without even realizing exactly when it had happened. Sadly, that was where the issues began.

Natasha wasn't normal. She had not been given a childhood- one that many could relate to. She never had much empathy, never developed strong family attachments, nor did she have any form of bonding that came easily for her. Communication was easily masked while secretly it was always stressed, never exactly knowing what others wanted to hear, and what they needed to hear. She had Clint- someone who understood her to a point and whom respected her. Up until that point, he had been enough.

She had spied on Tony, working undercover without the slightest attachments through the logical reasoning of why? Why did she need useless sentimental connections in her life? As time moved on, and the Avengers were formed, she was hit with some sort of…illogical longing.

It hadn't taken long for Clint to realize what had been affecting her. One night he had simply smiled and said rather calmly, "You know, they already consider you family. You don't have to go out of your way to convince them."

It had startled her greatly. Clint had only given her a knowing look before returning to his floor for the night, leaving Natasha alone with only her thoughts to keep her company.

True Clint had been right- she had a longing for… normalcy, and as odd as that word was with their small group based on superhumans, gods, a guy with massive anger issues. It was a comforting word. She hadn't ever had a family. She never had one, and more importantly, it hit her that she wanted one.

She assumed that Thor trusted her. It was sudden and caught her off guard one morning while he was frantically looking for a box of Poptarts.

"I think that Stark keeps them in that pantry." Natasha nodded, pointing to one of the cupboards next to the fridge. Sure enough, as Thor hefted the door open the dark blue boxes were neatly aligned.

"I thank thee, friend Natasha!" Thor laughed loudly, carefully and gently clapping her on the back in a friendly manner, offering her a bright happy smile.

(It wasn't until later when she realized that Thor was a prince, and if he offered such open friendliness to everyone he would have long since been killed.)

Bruce instead approached her, settling across from her with a warm cup of tea in his hands while she flipped through a book while adorning a fluffy coat to keep out the slight chill in the air.

He apologized, for the Hulk actually. It took her by surprise, but she accepted, joining the conversation carefully before it morphed itself willingly into something of a confession on Bruce's part, revealing information that even SHIELD and Clint had no knowledge of.

It took her even less time to realize that his confiding in her was rather…a drastic step in the right direction. Although her responses were rather delayed and stressed, he only smiled and encouraged her, practically teaching her in the normal way of human interaction without mockery or deceit.

With Steve it was not sudden nor was it noticeable until Clint pointed it out.

They were on a small mission, not major fighting so instead it was just the three of them.

They needed to get up a rather tall wall to survey their surroundings from a higher vantage point. Steve had braced his shield, holding it aloft while looking at Natasha with a grin and stating, "Just like New York? Do you want up the wall, or high enough to grab onto some Flying Space Snowmobiles?"

The suddenness of his comment made Clint laugh and grin, Natasha just offering a small awkward smile before they continued with the mission, Clint quietly informing her that the appearance of 'Inside Jokes' was another sign of trust. Steve apparently had already accepted her into his family.

All that remained was Tony.

She hadn't dared approach him- she knew that he might despise her- even hate her due to her…mission in the past. He was certainly angry at him…and Natasha longed for acceptance, no matter how childish the situation was.

'He doesn't trust me. He won't and he never will.' She thought to herself. No words could symbolize the pure anguish at such realization that her longing for such attachment would never become.

So, after a while, she simply…gave up.

After all, who would trust a liar of a woman, who had already burned you once?

x-(X)-x

"Tony! Hurry up already!"

Tony rolled his eyes from under the visor of his suit, altering his trajectory ever so slightly.

"Yeah yeah, I'm already on my way Spangles!" Tony responded, closing the audio feed as he rolled his eyes, continuing to fly through the sky.

"Sir, estimated time is 32 seconds before the Helicarrier is visible."

"Perfect Jar. Does Fury have a spot for me?" Tony asked lazily, the clouds blocking his view temporarily.

"I assume not sir. Shall I locate the nearest Helicopter landing pad, or will you just land on one of the jets?"

"Jarvis, is that even a question?" Tony asked, mock hurt in his voice as he grinned, finally seeing the Helicarrier.

He landed, Jarvis helping as he slowed his speed, charring the runway where the jets took off. Already the Quinjet had settled, SHIELD lackey's racing around to secure it to the hull of the flying machine. "Shall I deactivate the suit, Sir?"

"Go for it Jar." Tony shrugged, taking a step as the suit unraveled like a coat, folding into a neat little square which he picked up carefully, whistling loudly as he passed by the gate and through the airlock door.

He swaggered, walking with a purpose past several rather flustered SHIELD lackeys, blushing as he smirked and winked at them before slipping inside the main conference room where the others were already sitting.

"Nice of you to join us, Stark." Fury growled, sitting at the head of the table.

The others were sitting already, Clint and Natasha sitting along the left side, Bruce and Steve already on the right while Thor took the other corresponding head, practically turning his neck 180 degrees just to see him enter.

"Eh, don't wait for me, Nicky." Tony shrugged with a smirk, grabbing a chair and dragging it across the floor with a purposefully loud scraping noise, causing the others to wince slightly.

He plopped down, chair part way backwards as he leant on the table, arching one eyebrow pointedly as he looked at Nick.

"So…what are we here for? Helicarrier isn't moving- normally it'd be over the Atlantic by now." Tony noted casually, causing Fury to scowl and slide a digital copy on a small tablet over the table.

"Issues with your recent battle. There was-"

"That was not my fault." Tony pointed out, causing the group to give a loud groan, synchronized.

"Did you practice that? 'Cause that was really creepy." Tony noted, causing Steve to scowl.

"Tony, this is important. You managed to-"

"Hey hey- that building was not my fault." Tony pointed out, causing Clint to snort loudly as he glanced over the information carelessly.

The mayor of Manhattan was getting frustrated with the recent damage the Avengers were giving, or more particularly, the Avengers but they were taking it out on Tony due to his public figure.

His eyebrows rose as he saw the money demand, and a low whistle escaped his lips, looking at Fury in disbelief. "Really? I'm not paying for this-"

"Stark." Fury sighed, exasperated as Bruce frowned, having not seen the numbers.

Tony slid the tablet over, and Bruce's eyes widened as he saw the amount. Tony felt his pocket vibrate and pulled out his phone absentmindedly, seeing the update filled with various bars of code via Jarvis.

"Fury, this is ridiculous for Tony to be paying this." Bruce frowned, Steve peering over and his jaw dropping.

"He shouldn't have to! These damages aren't just Tony's fault- the bus was mine!" Steve argued as Tony hummed an agreement, scrolling down the code with a small frown.

'Delta- Cssrt488-932. Delta-Beta Red. Red 6674-32455 1101100010011101101. Sector 5 66-463. Pass: denied. Access-granted. Target: Sector 7 bypass. Firearm: two. Firebird44.'

Tony glanced up with a frown, quickly sending a small request for a live tracking feed, something that Jarvis quickly processed the command as Fury continued.

"That may be, but Stark is a public figure. He's the only one that can deal with your mistakes-"

"Whoa here!" Tony interrupted, lifting his arms defensively, "I did not send in that Chopper to take out that restaurant. If I was right, that had the words SHIELD on the side- right Natasha?" Tony asked, purposefully pulling the red haired woman into the conversation.

He noted Natasha's awkward nod, and slight unease with looking at him. He understood of course- it was the same looks that he had given Pepper and Rhodey after…Obadiah.

She wanted him to trust her, but she had already given up.

It was a shame that she hadn't realized that he already trusted her.

How many times had they fought together? How many times had he let her take out foes from his back, or how many times had he followed her judgment without complaint- how many times?

He glanced at his phone once more, seeing an actual visual feed of the questionable person walking down the corridor in SHIELD uniform, not looking around as Tony could faintly see the outline of the gun that he had hidden, already Jarvis having detected it.

'Target?' Tony typed, entering the question to Jarvis who quickly tracked the path and made a certain decision based on the information gathered.

'Possible targets: Steve Rogers/ Tony Stark.'

Tony wasn't surprised. Attempts on his life were actually faintly common.

'Alert alarms. Sector hidden.' Tony typed in, and once more, Jarvis obeyed the command.

Four seconds later, bright red alarms blared.

Fury turned, face emotionless as were Clint and Natasha's. Natasha drew two guns, wordlessly giving one to Clint who took it, loaded the weapon and flipped the safety off as Fury quickly tried to locate the intruder.

"Where is this intruder?" Fury growled, on live feed with the security group.

"We-We don't know sir! He got in sector three, but the scanner in sector five is broken! He could be anywhere by now!"

"What's his target then? What does he want?" Fury growled, and the security team continued with their wordless freak-out.

"Rogers, Barton, take the Hanger. Sweep out incase he's hiding. Thor, Bruce take the Labs-"

"I've got Natasha! Let's go Itsy Bitsy spider! We're in Tech!" Tony chirped, taking his suit as they filed out, Tony spotting Fury taking his own personal gun out and loading it.

Tony glanced at his phone, seeing where the intruder was- tech lab 4. Obviously waiting for him, this counted out Steve for a target.

He had Natasha- he'd be fine.

They continued with silence, Natasha not glancing behind as they walked, instead entering the first lab and sweeping while Natasha covered his backs.

He glanced at his phone- the intruder now taking cover behind one of the storage cabinets in the third lab.

They exited the first, entering the second while Natasha observed with careful eyes as Tony looked over the equipment.

"He's not here." Tony spoke, as they exited, Natasha frowning as they entered the third lab.

Tony knew the man was hiding behind the one cabinet, and although he wanted to shout, this would be the perfect time for Natasha to realize that he trusted her.

He moved by, giving an audible sigh as he turned his back-

Bang!

He spun, seeing the intruder slump to the ground tonelessly, Natasha with her eyes locked on the man as she walked forward, drawing her microphone from her pocket and speaking in it calmly.

"Intruder has been eliminated. I repeat, intruder has been eliminated. Sector clear." She reported as the two of them walked over to investigate the body.

Tony glanced at him with a small frown, pulling out the gun.

"Huh, Jarvis was right. I'm impressed; your scanners are getting better." He mentioned, causing Natasha's eyes to widen as she looked at him in barely recognizable surprise.

"You knew that he had weapons?"

"I knew he was behind that cabinet." Tony nodded to the cabinet where he had appeared. "Besides, you were here. I had nothing to worry about."

"…You knew I would fire and kill the intruder?" Natasha asked, still somewhat puzzled.

Tony glanced at her, eyes locking while conveying an important emotion of trust. "Natasha. I knew that you'd have my back." He spoke.

People burst through the doors, guns raised as they hurried over to the fallen body.

Tony and Natasha stepped back, exiting from the door as they were walking down a nearly empty hallway, back towards where the Quinjet was located.

Natasha was deep in her thoughts as Tony looked at her. A slightly mischievous light glittered in his eye as he misstep, and declared loudly.

"Trust fall!" He practically sang before going limp, collapsing limply backwards as if fainted. Natasha instantly caught the man, muscles tense as they strained slightly to hold the stronger man up in a safe position.

She blinked, looking down at Tony who gave her a pointed look as she hefted him upright, Tony fixing his clothing as he purposefully brushed past her rather close, murmuring in her ear.

"You know, I do trust you." Then he straightened, taking a few steps away and towards the air sealed doors towards outside.

"Tasha!" Clint shouted, the others having regrouped and walking quickly towards her, looking slightly concerned, "Are you all right?"

"Fine." She spoke, partially distracted as her eyes trailed after the path where Tony had vanished off to." I'm perfectly fine."

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**Alright! I hope you guys liked that!**

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******~Oceanbreeze7**


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